Opening Night

Cancer survivor Ed Merrel his wife Bobbie, and me at the opening of Courage Unmasked 2010. Held at Studios On High Gallery 686 N. High St. Columbus, OH

The Process

Courage Unmasked Artist Statement

Ed Merrel is an oral cancer survivor; he is my muse for the “Courage Unmasked” project.  Ed and his wife have traveled a lot, and all vacations have included water, ocean, beach palm trees and anything around water.  Ed says that when he passes away he would like his ashes to be put into a glass bottle and thrown in the ocean at the rocks in St. Martins, so he can spend all of time in the ocean. The surgery to remove the cancer from Ed took place March 3 1988; Ed vowed to not be in Columbus OH. on that date. Every 5 years on the 3rd of March, Ed has a party on the beach to celebrate life and surviving. The party began at 3:00 on March 3, 2003, the 15th anniversary of Ed’s surgery.  Ed has a positive outlook, he says, “We all face something, no one has a free ride. If I can handle cancer I can handle anything.  Maybe I can help others along the way.”  When I first received the radiation mask to work with it was upsetting, and I hid it in a basement closet for days until I was ready to create my work of art. In the early stages of design I went through several experiments to get my mold made from the radiation mask. These experiments caused me to really beat the thing up pretty good. It was very cathartic for me. I was much more at ease with the radiation mask after having given it a good kicking.  I also realized that out of the dark and pain can come good.  Even though the mask appears ominous and scary it is still the vehicle through which one can become well and healed. It is Ed’s positive outlook and love of the ocean and life, which served as the idea behind my creation. “Ocean Wash, Beach Celebration” Is a sculpture from cast glass and steel grid. The glass was given a black oil pain wash in order to bring out the details. Glass is very sensitive and this cast developed some cracking. The cracks add metaphor for the fragility and tentativeness of life, and I discussed this with Ed and he was pleased, as was I, by the artistic poetry of the design, and feels it relates directly to his story.  The survivor once was whole and now feels cracked having gone through the changes that come with surviving head and neck cancer. The image is a survivor partially under a radiation mask, and in keeping with Ed’s positive outlook, the survivor lies with a serene look on his face as he enjoys the ocean waves rolling up on his face as it washes the mask away.  The numbers 5 and 3 are present to represent the landmark of 5 years cancer free, and the celebration of 15 years that Ed enjoyed on the beach with his friends and family, March 3, 2003 at 3:00. The steel grid beneath the mask gives the mask some stability and also reflects the grid of the radiation mask.
The Progression of the mask: I created a mold from the original radiation mask, and created a “wax positive” I then sculpted my designs based on Ed’s story into the wax positive. With the assistance of glass artist Trevor Fruchey, I made a plaster silica mold from the wax. We then melted the wax out of the plaster silica mold. Next the mold was placed into a kiln and filled with glass billets. The kiln was set to 1600 degrees to melt the glass and then annealed back down to room temperature for over a week and a half.  Holes were drilled to fit the brass cast bolts, and the mask was attached to a steel grid. The mask was then given an oil paint wash to bring back the detailed textures in the sculpture.